Connector receptacle

ABSTRACT

A receptacle for flat circuit bearing elements such as printed circuit boards, which receptacle has an elongated one-piece body of insulating material with a long, narrow slot for insertion of the circuit bearing element, a plurality of adjacently spaced, electrical contacts mounted adjacent at least one longitudinal side of the slot partially under a protective cover and adapted for connection with complementary contacts on the circuit bearing element, the adjacent contacts in the body having terminal portions extending from the bottom of the body which are both longitudinally and laterally spaced apart, and a pair of oppositely disposed vertical uprights integral with the body and positioned adjacent to the opposite ends of the slot, one of the uprights having a reference surface for locating the circuit bearing element in a predetermined position in respect to the contacts in the body, and the other upright having a spring means for forcibly positioning the circuit bearing element against the reference surface for establishing said predetermined alignment.

United States Patent [1 1 Occhipinti Dec. 16, 1975 [73] Assignee: BunkerRamo Corporaation, Oak

Brook, Ill.

[22] Filed: Jan. 22, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 435,416

Related U.S. Application Data [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 250,710, May5, 1972,

Guides, 6-1963, pp. 96 & 97.

Primary Examiner-Joseph l-l. McGlynn Attorney, Agent, or FirmFredFisher; F. M. Arbuckle [5 7] ABSTRACT A receptacle for flat circuitbearing elements such as printed circuit boards, which receptacle has anelongated one-piece body of insulating material with a long, narrow slotfor insertion of the circuit bearing element, a plurality of adjacentlyspaced, electrical contacts mounted adjacent at least one longitudinalside of the slot partially under a protective cover and adapted forconnection with complementary contacts on the circuit bearing element,the adjacent contacts in the body having terminal portions extendingfrom the bottom of the body which are both longitudinally and laterallyspaced apart, and a pair of oppositely disposed vertical uprightsintegral with the body and positioned adjacent to the opposite ends ofthe slot, one of the uprights having a reference surface for locatingthe circuit bearing element in a predetermined position in respect tothe contacts in the body, and the other upright having a spring meansfor forcibly positioning the circuit bearing element against thereference surface for establishing said predetermined alignment.

5 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures US. Patent Dec. 16, 1975 Sheet 1 of23,926,496

H" W if i W {mpg Sheet 2 of 2 US. Patent Dec. 16, 1975 CONNECTORRECEPTACLE This is a continuation, of application Ser. No. 250,710,filed May 5, 1972, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION With the miniaturization of electroniccircuits, many circuits are now either printed, deposited or otherwiseformed on either or both surfaces of a board or similar substrate. Inuse, these circuits bearing elements or boards are fitted into suitablereceptacles and interconnected to other circuit elements to form complexelectronic devices. In order to permit electrical contacts of theprinted circuit board with the receptacle, a plurality of contact padsare provided adjacent at least one edge of the printed circuit board.The contact pads generally are in the form of strips of conductivematerial to which circuitry on the board can be connected.

With increased miniaturization, the receptacles in order to accept themultitude of contact pads on the circuit board have contained a numberof small, closely grouped contacts. Each of the contacts is rigidlymounted in the receptacle, insulatively separated from adjacentcontacts, and includes an engagement portion with some form of nosesection adapted to electrically mate with one of the contact pads. Aterminal portion is also provided on each contact for electricalconnection to an external conductor.

In many instances, the receptacles have also included a cover plate ofinsulating material which extends over most of each contact except forthe nose section and provides increased protection of the small, fragilecontacts against damage or accidental electrical short circuiting. Theseconnectors in the past have been commonly formed by fastening two ormore individual parts together to form an insulative housing with thecover for the contacts.

Although these receptacles have been generally satisfactory, there havebeen some problems with their manufacture and performance. Themanufacture of each of the individual parts required for the housing ofinsulating material has required a number of time-consuming operations.In some instances, the performance of the completed receptacles has beenlimited by variations in alignment of the individual parts in thehousing. The alignment problem is particularly important in respect toreceptacles having a multitude of small, closely grouped contacts sinceeven a slight variation in their positions can result in connectionproblems with contact pads on the printed circuit board.

Another problem frequently associated with these receptacles is thelimited accessibility of the terminal portion of each contact forconnection to an external conductor. As the contacts within a limitedspace are increased in number, the engagement portions of adjacentcontacts are often separated by only a few hundreds of an inch. Sinceeach terminal portion is integral with the engagement portion, the spaceavailable between adjacent terminal portions also often becomes solimited that it is often difficult to connect an external conductor toeach terminal portion. This problem is particularly significant when theindividual terminal portions are wire wrapped with several turns of theexternal conductor wire, thus increasing the metallic perimeter of eachterminal portion. When automatic equipment is utilized for wirewrapping, it also is necessary to include space between terminalportions for the insertions of a special wire wrapping tool. In someinstances, this causes a reduction in wire size, terminal portions ofthe contact, or both.

It is therefore desirable to provide new protected entry receptacles inaccordance with the description below.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention is directed to a protected entryconnector for flat circuit bearing elements such as printed circuitboards and more particularly to a receptacle constructed of a one-piecesolid body of insulating material and having a plurality of electricalcontacts positioned within the body with portions slightly exposed inthe slot for engagement with complementary contact pads on the printedcircuit board.

The receptacle is made of a one-piece body of nylon, hi-impactpolystyrene or other suitable insulating material and is convenientlyformed in a molding operation. Slot means are provided to expose atleast a portion of the engagement portions of the electrical contactsand to receive a printed circuit board with contact pads, positioned forelectrical connection with the contacts in the receptacle. Referencemeans are also provided to locate the printed circuit board in an exactpredetermined position relative to the plurality of contacts in thereceptacle. In addition, means are provided for mounting the individualcontacts in the receptacle body such that their terminal portionsextending from the bottom of the connector body are not all in a singleplane.

More specifically, the receptacle has an elongated onepiece body ofinsulating material with a long, narrow slot extending verticallythrough the body and exposing a plurality of contact-receiving pocketsspaced along at least one of the longitudinal sides of the slot.Adjacent pockets are separated by a barrier member with a lower portionhaving contact mounting surfaces for rigidly securing each contact inthe body. The adjacent contacts are positioned in their respectivepockets such that their terminal portions are also separated in alateral direction with respect to the longitudinal side of the slot.Each contact is postioned so as to be adapted to make physical andelectrical contact with a contact pad of the printed circuit elementwhen the element is in the slot.

The body of dielectric material also includes a pair of oppositelydisposed vertical uprights at the ends of the slot. One of the uprightshas an upwardly projecting reference means with a surface adapted toreceive the printed circuit board and to locate it in an exactpredetermined position with reference to the contacts in the receptaclebody. The other upright has a resilient means adapted to force theprinted circuit board element against the reference surface of theopposite upright.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a protected entry receptacle utilizing theinvention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the receptacle illustrating the pair of opposedvertical uprights and terminal portions of the contacts.

FIG. 3 is a fragmental view of the bottom of the receptacle illustratinga portion of the slot and contact pockets exposed by the slot.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the receptacle along line 44 of FIG.2 and illustrates the positioning 3 of an electrical contact in acontact-receiving pocket.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an adjacent pocket and contactmember to that illustrated in FIG. 3, taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 2,and illustrates the positioning of the electrical contact to provide thedesired separation of the terminal positions of the adjacent contacts.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of pockets illustrated in FIG. 3 prior toinsertion of the metallic contacts.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view in cross section of receptacle illustratingthe mounting of a contact in the receptacle.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of one vertical upright taken alongline 88 of FIG. 1 illustrating the reference surface adapted to receiveand position the printed circuit board element which serves as areference means to locate the printed circuit board element.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the opposite upright taken alongline 99 of FIG. 1 illustrating the positioning of a spring which servesas a resilient means to locate the printed circuit board element.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION The receptacle is utilized with a flat circuitbearing element having contact pads adjacent at least one of its edgesand comprises an elongated one-piece body of insulating material havinga slot adapted to receive the edge of the element having the contactpads. The slot is open at the top of the body, extends vertically a distance into the body, and exposes at least one contactreceiving pocketcontaining an electrical contact. The body has an upper, inner surfaceadjacent to at least one of the longitudinal sides of the slot. Thesurface extends in a lateral and general horizontal direction away fromthe slot and serves as a protective cover for the contacts.

One or more contacts are mounted in the body below and are partiallyhidden by the cover. Each contact is disposed under the upper, innersurface of the pocket and has a section which extends a short distanceinto the slot for engagement with a complimentary contact pad on thecircuit bearing element. When a plurality of contacts are disposed in aplurality of pockets along at least one side of the slot, the adjacentcontacts are mounted in their respective pockets such that the terminalportions which extend below the body of insulating material areseparated a greater distance than the separation of the engagementportions of the contacts.

The body also includes a pair of vertical uprights positioned adjacentthe opposite ends of the slot. One of the uprights has a reference meansadapted to receive and position the circuit bearing element in apredetermined location in the slot. The other upright has a resilientmeans adapted to receive the circuit bearing element and forciblyposition it against the reference means. The connector receptacle.generally indicated at 10 in FIGS. 1 and 2, includes an elongated bodyportion 12 extending between a pair of oppositely disposed verticaluprights 14 and 15 with opposed inner verti- Cally flat faces 16 and 17.Mounting flanges 18 and 20 are ordinarily provided and these areillustrated as including screw holes 22 and 24, as is common practice inthe connector art.

The connector body 10 includes a relatively long, narrow, deep slot 26disposed between uprights l4 and 15 and arranged to receive the leadingedge of a mating circuit board. As illustrated, slot 26 extendsvertically through body 10 and includes longitudinal side 28 which isusually in the form of a flat, vertical wall.

Along the opposite longitudinal side 30 of slot 26 are arranged aplurality of contacts illustrated by individual contact 32 which has ayieldable ribbon-like blade portion 33 exposed by slot 26 (as morecompletely illustrated in FIG. 4). It is understood that a similararrangement of contacts can also be positioned along side 28 of slot 26.

FIG. 3 is a fragmental view of bottom side 34 of body 12 and illustratescontacts 32 and 36 disposed in pockets 38 and 40 which are exposed byside 30 of slot 26. The individual pockets are disposed in a row alongside 30 and are open at bottom side 34 to facilitate molding of body 12and the insertion of the individual contacts into the pockets. Asillustrated, pockets 38 and 40 are separated by barrier wall 41 whichextends laterally between side 30 of slot 26 and outer body section 42.

Each of the metallic contacts consists of a single integral stamping ofrelatively thin sheet metal. In the preferred embodiment, they areformed of a nickel alloy, (nickel-copper-zinc) ribbon stock of about0.0080.009 inches in thickness which has been goldplated to improveelectrical conductivity.

As illustrated in FIGS. 4, 5, and 7 each contact is formed as a flatblade and includes a shank or mounting portion 46 to rigidly secure thecontact in the body of insulating material, a terminal portion 48 forconnection to a lead-in wire or other conductor by wire wrapping,soldering or the like, and a yieldable engagement portion 50 with arounded bow 51 as a nose section for engagement with a contact pad onthe circuit board element. Engagement portion 50 also includes upper arm52 positioned against surface 54 of projection 56 which serves as a stopmember to limit the distance that the engagement portion projects intoslot 26. Lower arm 53 extends rearwardly away from slot 26 and isintegrally interconnected with mounting portion 46. When a circuit boardelement is in the receptacle, engagement portion 50 is forced away fromits normal biased position and therefore exerts a substantial forceagainst the contact pad on the circuit board, thus causing good physicaland electrical connection to be made between the contact and contactpad.

Frequently, a multiplicity of contacts are arranged in one row alongslot 26. In the preferred embodiment, the slot is about 2 inches longand provides access to 40 contacts in a single row, each contact beingabout 0.02 inches wide at its blade and terminal portions. Under theseconditions, the contacts are separated by about 0.03 inches. Since thisdistance would limit accessibility of the terminal portion of eachcontact for electrical connections, the mounting portions of adjacentcontacts are also spaced laterally apart in respect to the longitudinalside 30 (FIG. 1) of the slot to substantially increase separation of theterminal portions.

FIG. 5 illustrates the mounting of contact 36 (FIG. 3) in pocket 40 andthe separation between terminal portion 48 of contact 32 illustrated inFIG. 4 and terminal portion 59 of contact 36. In the receptacledescribed above, the terminal portions are separated laterally about 0.l 0 inches and those in the same row are separated by about 0.08 incheswhich are substantially greater than that (0.03 inches) for theengagement portions of the adjacent contacts.

The mounting portion of each contact is rigidly secured in mountingsurfaces in the bottom portion of each of the adjoining barrier walls.FIG. 6 is an enlargement of a portion of FIG. 3 prior to insertion ofthe contacts and illustrates a lower view of pockets 38 and 40. Thepockets include T-shaped recesses 58 and 60 with associated crossmembers 61 and 62 which are laterally offset with respect to each otherand provide surfaces for mounting the contacts. As illustrated, crossmember 61 is disposed adjacent to side 30 of slot 26 with stem 63 sizedto accept passage of engagement portion 50 during mounting of thecontact extending laterally away from slot 26 a distance generally equalto the distance between the curved outer surface of the wide radius bendof bow 51 and the lower extremity of the engagement portion of contact36 shown in FIG. 5. Recess 60 is positioned so that the cross member 62is laterally separated from cross member 61 of recess 58 and stem 64extends between cross member 62 and side 30 of slot 26. The distance ofstem 64 is generally equal to the distance between outer curved surfaceof wide radius bend and the vertical supporting member of the mountingshank of contact 32 shown in FIG. 4. The distance between the crossmembers of recess 58 and recess 60 is generally equal to the separationbetween the tenninal portions of adjacent contacts.

During the mounting of the individual contacts in the bottom-loadedreceptacle, a dummy circuit board is positioned in the slot and servesto force the engagement portion of each contact in a direction away fromthe slot so that the upper tip of the contact fits into the recess adistance beyond the abutment shoulder. If the contact were inserted inits unloaded condition without the presence of the dummy circuit board,the upper tip would be positioned too far into the slot and the tipwould not fit into the recess. After the contact has been mounted, thedummy circuit board is removed and the upper tip engages the abutmentshoulder, causing the engagement portion to be in a biased condition.

In FIG. 7, a contact similar to that shown in FIG. 5 is illustrated. Thecontact includes an engagement portion 70 with an upper arm 71 of bow 72and a lower arm 73 extending downward at an incline from how 72.Integral with engagement portion 70 is a horizontal beam member 74 and arelatively rigid vertical support 75 of the contact mounting shank. Asillustrated, the contact is a single, integral sheet metal stamping ofrelatively thin conductive metal. The support includes oppositelydisposed coplanar flanges, one illustrated as 76, in the same plane asthe web 77 of the support. Outer irregularly shaped surfaces,illustrated by barbed surface 78, are provided to bite into the oppositeend surfaces 66 and 68 of cross member 58 (FIG. 6) and rigidly securethe contact in the pocket.

FIGS. 8 and 9 are cross sections of vertical uprights 14 and which actto guide and position the circuit board element into slot 26. Upright 14includes a reference means illustrated as vertical surface 80 forlocating the circuit board element in a predetermined position inrespect to the horizontal positions of the contacts in slot 26. Spacingbetween contacts is only a small fraction of an inch and therefore, theexact positioning of the circuit board element is important to theproper functioning of the receptacle. Since upright 14 is an integralpart of one-piece body 12, references surface 80 can be formed in apredetermined location on body 12 during the molding operation.

Upright 15 is provided with spring 82 which serves as resilient means toforce the circuit board element against the reference surface 80 ofupright 14 in FIG. 8. Upright 15 is further provided with side meansillustrated by side wall 95 which laterally directs the circuit boardelement resiliently against spring 82 during insertion of the elementbetween the uprights 14 and 15 and when the element is positioned in theslot. As illustrated, spring 82 is shaped in the form of a bow 83 withdownward extending elongated arms 84 and 85. Arm 84 is positionedcoextensive with the vertical side wall 86 of upright 15 and includeslocking tab 87 in the notch 88 on the lower extremity of vertical sidewall 86 of upright 15. Extending on the other side of the bow 83 is anelongated bowed arm in abutment engagement with a vertical shoulder 85in abutment engagement with a vertical shoulder 89 in the base of thereceptacle thereby resiliently restraining arm 85 from movement towardsvertical face 16 of upright 14. It will be seen that the spring 82 isreceived in a recess of upright 14 and that the wall 95 on the uprightincludes guide means for aligning the board or circuit bearing elementwith the spring. Conveniently, before spring 82 is inserted, a dummycircuit board (not shown) is first positioned in the receptacle forcingthe elongated arms 84 and 85 closer together. When locking tab 87 of thespring 82 reaches notch 88 in vertical side wall 86, it locks intoposition. Upon removal of the dummy board, tip 90 of opposite elongatedarm 85 forcibly moves against vertical shoulder 89 in the base of thereceptacle.

In many instances the receptacle is polarized to accept the circuitboard element in a predetermined orientation. Various portions of thereceptacle can be formed to provide the desired polarization. Toillustrate, uprights 14 and 15 can include vertical surfaces of unequallengths to mate with corresponding surfaces on the circuit boardelement. Slot 26 can include a stop member on one of its ends for thesame purpose.

The foregoing description of the present invention is only illustrativeof an exemplary form which the invention may take. Still othermodifications and variations will suggest themselves to persons skilledin the art. It is intended, therefore, that the foregoing detaileddescription be considered as exemplary only and that the scope of theinvention be ascertained from the following claims.

I claim:

1. A receptacle for a flat circuit-bearing element having contact padsadjacent at least one edge thereof comprising:

a one-piece body of insulating material having a slot for receiving theedge of the element having said contact pads, the slot having oppositeends and-a pair of vertical uprights integral with the body andpositioned adjacent the opposite ends of the slot, one'of the uprightsincluding reference means for receiving and locating the element in apredetermined position in the slot and the other upright includingresilient means for receiving the element and forcibly positioning itagainst the reference means, said other upright including side means forlaterally directing said element resiliently against said resilientmeans when said edge of said element is in said slot, said resilientmeans including a pair of spaced-apart arms and an upper bow joiningsaid arms, one of said arms facing and resiliently restrained frommovement towards said reference means, said resilient means includingspring means having a lateral ear portion and said other verticalupright including a restraining abutment in juxtaposition with the earportion for retaining the spring means in the upright.

2. A receptacle for a flat circuit-bearing element having a plurality ofcontact pads located between spaced edges of said element, theimprovement comprising:

a one-piece body of insulating material having a slot for receiving theelement and said contact pads, and an integrally formed reference meanson said body for engaging one edge of said element to locate the elementin predetermined position in the slot, a plurality of contacts carriedby said body with each contact having a predetermined position alongsaid slot for engaging a respective contact pad,

and resilient spring means carried by said body engaging the otherspaced edge of said element and forcibly positioning the element in theslot against the reference meansto align each contact pad with arespective contact of said plurality of contacts, said resilient springmeans including a pair of spaced-apart arms and an upper bow joiningsaid arms, one of said arms in facing engagement with said other edge ofsaid element and resiliently restrained from movement past a selectedposition towards said reference means, the other arm engaged with saidbody and held against movement from said element.

3. The receptacle of claim 2 wherein said body includes a verticalshoulder providing an abutment engaging said one arm for resilientlyrestraining said one arm.

4. A receptacle for a flat circuit bearing element having contact padsadjacent on at least one edge thereof comprising an elongated one-piecebody of insulating material having a long, narrow slot extendingvertically through the body with opposite longitudinal sides terminatingat opposite ends of the slot and an upper inner surface extendinglaterally and generally horizontally from one of said sides as aprotective cover and shaped to include a stop means, a pair of verticaluprights positioned integrally with the body at said ends of said slotand including reference means on one of said uprights to receive andlocate the element in a predetermined position in the slot and the othersaid uprights including resilient means to receive the element andforcibly position it against the reference means with said reference andresilient means including opposed inner, vertically flat faces at saidopposite ends of said slot, said resilient means includes spring meanswith a pair of spacedapart arms joined at an upper bow with one of thearms facing and resiliently restrained from movement towards saidreference means and a lateral ear portion on said spring means, saidvertical upright including a restraining abutment in juxtaposition withthe ear portion for retaining the spring means in the upright, at leastone of said longitudinal sides of said slot sides laterally exposing aplurality of adjacently spaced contactreceiving pockets disposed alongsaid side below said protective cover and open at the bottom of thebody, with alternate pockets having oppositely directed T- shaped crosssections at the bottom thereof, barrier means with contact-mountingsurfaces extending laterally from said one longitudinal side andseparating said pockets, and contact means including a plurality of flatblade-like contacts of sheet metal mounted in said pockets between thesurfaces of the barrier means with terminal portions extendingdownwardly from and beyond the body with terminal portions of adjacentcontacts being separated both longitudinally and vertically, eachT-shape having a cross member adapted for mounting said contacts, andeach of said contacts including an engagement portion with a rounded bowpartially extending inwardly into said slot for engagement with saidcontact pads, said bow including an upper arm positioned against saidstop means in said pocket for limiting movement of said bow inwardlyinto said slot and a lower arm extending rearwardly away from said slotto an end spaced apart from said cross member of said T-shape, said eachcontact also including a barbed pair of coplanar flanges retaining thecontact in said cross member of said T-shape and integrally connectedwith said end of said lower arm, said contact means being adapted tomake physical and electrical contact with the contact pad of saidelement when said element is in said slot.

5. The receptacle of claim 4 wherein said body includes a verticalshoulder providing an abutment for resiliently restraining said one arm.

1. A receptacle for a flat circuit-bearing element having contact padsadjacent at least one edge thereof comprising: a one-piece body ofinsulating material having a slot for receiving the edge of the elementhaving said contact pads, the slot having opposite ends and a pair ofvertical uprights integral with the body and positioned adjacent theopposite ends of the slot, one of the uprights including reference meansfor receiving and locating the element in a predetermined position inthe slot and the other upright including resilient means for receivingthe element and forcibly positioning it against the reference means,said other upright including side means for laterally directing saidelement resiliently against said resilient means when said edge of saidelement is in said slot, said resilient means including a pair ofspaced-apart arms and an upper bow joining said arms, one of said armsfacing and resiliently restrained from movement towards said referencemeans, said resilient means including spring means having a lateral earportion and said other vertical upright including a restraining abutmentin juxtaposition with the ear portion for retaining the spring means inthe upright.
 2. A receptacle for a flat circuit-bearing element having aplurality of contact pads located between spaced edges of said element,the improvement comprising: a one-piece body of insulating materialhaving a slot for receiving the element and said contact pads, and anintegrally formed reference means on said body for engaging one edge ofsaid element to locate the element in predetermined position in theslot, a plurality of contacts carried by said body with each contacthaving a predetermined position along said slot for engaging arespective contact pad, and resilient spring means carried by said bodyengaging the other spaced edge of said element and forcibly positioningthe element in the slot against the reference means to align eachcontact pad with a respective contact of said plurality of contacts,said resilient spring means including a pair of spaced-apart arms and anupper bow joining said arms, one of said arms in facing engagement withsaid other edge of said element and resiliently restrained from movementpast a selected position towards said reference means, the other armengaged with said body and held against movement from said element. 3.The receptacle of claim 2 wherein said body includes a vertical shoulderproviding an abutment engaging said one arm for resiliently restrainingsaid one arm.
 4. A recepTacle for a flat circuit bearing element havingcontact pads adjacent on at least one edge thereof comprising anelongated one-piece body of insulating material having a long, narrowslot extending vertically through the body with opposite longitudinalsides terminating at opposite ends of the slot and an upper innersurface extending laterally and generally horizontally from one of saidsides as a protective cover and shaped to include a stop means, a pairof vertical uprights positioned integrally with the body at said ends ofsaid slot and including reference means on one of said uprights toreceive and locate the element in a predetermined position in the slotand the other said uprights including resilient means to receive theelement and forcibly position it against the reference means with saidreference and resilient means including opposed inner, vertically flatfaces at said opposite ends of said slot, said resilient means includesspring means with a pair of spaced-apart arms joined at an upper bowwith one of the arms facing and resiliently restrained from movementtowards said reference means and a lateral ear portion on said springmeans, said vertical upright including a restraining abutment injuxtaposition with the ear portion for retaining the spring means in theupright, at least one of said longitudinal sides of said slot sideslaterally exposing a plurality of adjacently spaced contact-receivingpockets disposed along said side below said protective cover and open atthe bottom of the body, with alternate pockets having oppositelydirected T-shaped cross sections at the bottom thereof, barrier meanswith contact-mounting surfaces extending laterally from said onelongitudinal side and separating said pockets, and contact meansincluding a plurality of flat blade-like contacts of sheet metal mountedin said pockets between the surfaces of the barrier means with terminalportions extending downwardly from and beyond the body with terminalportions of adjacent contacts being separated both longitudinally andvertically, each T-shape having a cross member adapted for mounting saidcontacts, and each of said contacts including an engagement portion witha rounded bow partially extending inwardly into said slot for engagementwith said contact pads, said bow including an upper arm positionedagainst said stop means in said pocket for limiting movement of said bowinwardly into said slot and a lower arm extending rearwardly away fromsaid slot to an end spaced apart from said cross member of said T-shape,said each contact also including a barbed pair of coplanar flangesretaining the contact in said cross member of said T-shape andintegrally connected with said end of said lower arm, said contact meansbeing adapted to make physical and electrical contact with the contactpad of said element when said element is in said slot.
 5. The receptacleof claim 4 wherein said body includes a vertical shoulder providing anabutment for resiliently restraining said one arm.